


Encore

by cheshirekitsune



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bloodshed, Gen, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-07
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 10:46:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2578775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshirekitsune/pseuds/cheshirekitsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A private musical performance from a cackling dream demon was the exact opposite thing Dipper wanted to dream about. Unfortunately, Bill isn't the type to cancel when he has a captive audience. The show was only about to begin. ::Oneshot::</p>
            </blockquote>





	Encore

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo a while back I had a terrible thought of Bill, or specifically Bipper, playing a piano or a pipe organ like a madman but I never really knew what to do with it. Then I started stressing over midterms and wound up creating this cocktail of stress, demon possessed children, and pipe organs instead of studying for my goddamn test.
> 
> Dipper I’m so sorry hopefully I made up for it at the end.
> 
> Inspirations for Dipper’s nightmares were pulled from the lost Labyrinth episode, and modmad’s wonderful Sock Opera: Take Two comic.
> 
> Gravity Falls (c) Alex Hirsch

Dipper never would have guessed that he would have to give up the luxury of a good night’s sleep at the age of twelve years old. From what he had heard, that sort of thing wasn’t supposed to happen until he was a teenager.

But, then again, he also hadn’t expected to meet up with a demon that claimed the land of dreams as his domain. Nor did he mean to accidently strike a deal that left him with years’ worth of psychological trauma in the span of one day. Again, it was something wasn’t expecting he would have to deal with until he was in college.

Bill Cipher was the worst creature he had ever had the misfortune of meeting, and that was a list that included the floating island head, Robbie, and Gideon. Evil incarnate in the shape of a triangle, the demon had gotten so much entertainment out of his little joy ride in Dipper’s body that he appeared more frequently than ever, hoping for another chance to steal and maim his temporary host.

After that first incident, which led to his arm bandaged and in a sling for nearly two weeks, Dipper swore never again. There was a better chance of Grunkle Stan winning the lottery and donating it to charity.

But Bill was a persistent creature, and it seemed that he had settled on breaking the boy psychologically instead of physically. If the mind broke, the body would soon follow. The nightmares had begun not long after his recovery from the sock opera, and the boy could easily say they were the most horrific things he had ever had to endure.

And there was just no end in sight.

* * *

 

The dream had started out slow, so slow that for one small moment, he thought maybe Cipher wouldn’t show his freakish one eyed face at all. Maybe he’d have a normal dream for once. Maybe he would wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and content, instead of drained and terrified.

But when was he ever that lucky?

Dipper’s eyes darted around nervously as he walked, the echoing of his footsteps against stone being the only sound he could hear. Just where was he anyway? This didn’t look like anywhere he had been in Gravity Falls. There weren’t too many places made out of stone bricks, with pillars of the same material at even intervals stretching up into the gloom. He could barely make out the ceiling; whatever building this was, it sure was a huge one. At least he didn’t spot a certain triangle leering at him from the rafters. “

Well well! Its about time you showed up Pine Tree~”

Brown eyes snapped down from scanning the dark ceiling, focusing instead towards the front of the room. Hundreds of candles had flickered to life, bathing the room in a soft glow that should have been comforting, had it not illuminated the first horror of this night.

Bill Cipher was standing in the center of the room, and he had taken Dipper’s body as his form for the evening. It was almost like Dipper was staring into a mirror, one of those warped funhouse mirrors. It was eerie, seeing his eyes glow yellow and his mouth twist into a grin that was just not natural. Back in his reverend costume from the opera, Bipper’s head tilted slightly, grin only widening at the shock so clearly displayed on Dipper’s face.

“Aw, what’s the matter? Surprised to see me like this~?” Arms opened wide, gesturing to the doppelganger. The glare Dipper gave only caused the demon to chuckle in that infuriating way of his. Of course he was surprised, who wouldn’t be!? It was his body! Technically, he was pretty sure Bill wasn’t actually possessing him right now. This was all still a dream…

“Why—“

“Oh come now, even a creative and charming guy like me wants to mix it up once in a while. Besides, human hands are much easier to work with when it comes to this little beauty behind me.”

The light in the room grew, revealing the ‘beauty’ that was lurking in the shadows. Dipper expected any number of things; a horde of zombies, gigantic puppets, mechanical clockwork owls, who knew what horror Bill had in store for him this evening. But of all the things he imagined, he certainly hadn’t expected--

“A pipe organ?”

The grin only grew wider, steps lazily being taken backward towards the instrument that towered over them both. Fingers traced lightly over the keys, itching to press down and create music. But not yet, no, first the prologue had to be completed before the main act could push forward.

“See, I was visiting another favorite human of mine up by those great lakes. Lovely young lady, whose dreams are always filled with grinning cats and sly foxes. Anyway, she gave me a wonderful idea for tonight’s show~”

“She…gave you the idea…” Dipper’s words were slow, trying to figure out who in their right mind would give Bill Cipher tips on how to make his life difficult.

“Oh, not on purpose of course!” The giggle that the demon gave was so unsettling, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He really was having too much fun with this, and that only meant that the nightmare to come would be one of the worst ones. It was a pattern, the more giddy Bill was, the more horrific the dreams.

“Ya see, she has this habit of falling asleep while listening to music, and you should know that music can affect the subconscious and dreams. I say ‘should know’, but who knows what they tell you in school these days! Consider yourself lucky! You’re getting a free lesson and a private performance from yours truly!”

If there was any decent higher power, Dipper prayed they were watching this and would send something to wake him up. A thunderstorm, Waddles jumping on him, anything would be welcome as long as it woke him up!

Bipper cracked his knuckles, fingers flexing as he turned his back to Dipper, hands raised over the keys. Realizing that the ‘show’, as it had been so fondly referred too, was about to start, the boy started forward. He didn’t have any idea what he was hoping to accomplish. Maybe if he tackled Bipper to the floor or something, he could stop this nightmare before it could really begin.

Before Dipper could even take two steps forward, the grinning demon brought his hands crashing down onto the keys, and the noise that followed was enough to make the whole room tremble. Dipper stopped, hands coming to cover his ears as he flinched at the noise. He could just barely make out Bipper’s laughter over the opening of the song.

“Might wanna pay attention, Pine Tree! Things are just getting started~”

He just barely had time to register those words, before the ground gave way beneath him, revealing a black pit. A terrified cry left him as he was plunged into darkness. There was nothing to grab onto, nothing to stop him from falling into the abyss, nothing that could—wait, there was something on the wall. Something that was grabbing him from all sides, pulling at his arms and his clothes and just anything they could grab onto.

It was with horror that he realized they were hands. Hundreds, if not thousands of hands jutting out of the walls. Screaming again, he began to squirm and writhe, trying to break the grip the hands had on him. But every time he broke free from one, two more would take its place, until he was being held up by them. The only light shone from the hole he had fall in, and that song was still playing, just as loud as when he had been standing next to the instrument. More squirms were given, the boy frantically trying to think of a way to get out of the pit. The hands that weren’t holding him up were shifting, stirring, until they made a crude sort of face in front of him, with Bill’s voice talking through the gloom and song.

“So what’ll it be kid? You wanna go up? Or down?”

God, he knew what this was from, and he seethed at the idea of Bill actually knowing his fears and dislikes well enough to use them against him. He was also going to destroy Mabel’s copy of that damn movie when he woke up.

“Let me go! Get me outta here!” He shouted, glaring at the face that the voice had spoken from. It broke apart, and a new face formed to his left, and Bill’s voice cackled from it.

“Well, if you say so~”

Dipper realized the mistake a second too late, and before he could scramble to grab onto something, the hands released him, sending him tumbling through the darkness again, while the triangle cackled at him from above. Down he tumbled, almost exactly in time with the dips of the song Bill was playing, until he crashed through the bottom and landed on the floor with a painful thud.

“Oww…” He pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the small of his back where he was sure a bruise would form. The song had quieted into a soft lull, and Dipper could only assume that it was meant to be a reprieve until the next part of the nightmare began. But just where in the world had he fallen—

His heart sank. The damp earthy walls, the dusty rusted equipment, and the prickly feeling that something was watching him from the shadows… he recognized this place immediately, and it filled him with dread.

He was back in the bunker.

“Oh no…” In a panic, he glanced around, waiting for the shapeshifter to come out and devour him. That stupid song Bill was playing was making him antsy, and it was only starting to pick up. Stumbling around, trying to keep an eye on everything around him, Dipper only succeeded in tripping over something. Looking down, he spotted Wendy’s axe lying near his feet, and he quickly snatched it up. Any weapon was better than no weapon at all.

The organ was slowly climbing in volume, making his heart race. Something was coming, it just had to be. The music was both his blessing and his curse, letting him know to expect something horrible, but also confirming that something horrible was actually about to happen. He wasn’t sure if it was better or worse than silence, but he couldn’t afford to waste any time thinking about it.

There was scuffling and screeching behind him, and he twisted around, axe raised. Only to find two Wendy’s battling over the Journal. Frozen in horror, he watched them as they pulled the book between them with so much force he feared it would rip in half. He had to act fast, and he knew exactly which Wendy was the fake. He remembered the events of that day clearly; there was no way he could get this wrong!

Axe raised, he swung with all his might at the Wendy on the left, hearing the song reach its peak. The metal sunk into her stomach and spewed sticky red blood—

He started screaming, dropping the axe as Wendy, the real Wendy, fell to the floor in a heap, a puddle of dark red growing around her with each moment. The shapeshifter was laughing at him, or was that Bill’s horrible laugh he was hearing? The two sounded so similar, and he couldn’t really tell over the music and his own terrified screams. The blood was on his hands, and he could still see her staring at him in horror…

He slowly backed away, unable to tear his eyes from the horrible sight he had created. He couldn’t seem to get far enough away, he could still see the red puddle and the red tinted gleam of the axe.

He stumbled, falling backward into one of the tunnels. Back into darkness, which he considered a blessing. At least now, he couldn’t see what he had done. His hands covered his face as he whimpered out an apology to Wendy. But she probably couldn’t hear him anymore.

Out of the darkness he tumbled, back landing against a stone floor. He was back in the room with Bill, who was still seated at that insane pipe organ. If he hadn’t been trapped in a nightmare, Dipper would have admitted to being slightly impressed. There was a twisted sort of grace to Bill’s playing, and the song itself was both terrifying and magnificent. It was no tune he had ever heard before, and it was one he prayed he would never hear again.

Bill glanced over his shoulder, the grin still plastered on his face. Dipper shuddered slightly, it still weirded him out to see Bill using his body for this terrifying little performance.

“What’dya think Pine Tree? Don’t you just loooove alternate endings? They add such a lovely flare to stories~”

The only response he got was a murderous glare from Dipper. It didn’t deter the demon in the slightest. On the contrary, Bill simply giggled and returned to playing, glancing upward as he faced the keys once more. “Why don’t we see another alternate ending, shall we~?”

Confused, Dipper barely had time to really consider Bills words, before something crashed to the floor in front of him. Leaping back in alarm, Dipper squinted at the now ruined pile of wood. The shape and white and pink paint was familiar…

His heart leapt into his throat when he realized what it was. It was the wedding cake prop from Mabel’s sock opera. But if that had fallen to the floor, then where was—

“Dipper! Help me!”

No. No no no. Not her. Anyone but her!

His head snapped upward, and he nearly stopped breathing. The dark catwalks of the theater had returned, and Mabel was hanging from a rope, one that had clearly been holding the wedding cake prop. She had just barely managed to grab onto the rope, and even from the floor, Dipper could see her grip was slipping. If she fell—

“Mabel! H-Hang on!” He took off, running towards the stairs that had miraculously appeared along with the rest of the set. All he had to do was get up those stairs and grab his sister before her grip slipped. He could do this, he would make it!

He took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the pounding in his chest or the stitch in his side. He ignored the stupid song that was still weaving through the air like noxious gas. His focus was Mabel. Just Mabel. Getting her onto the catwalk safely. That’s it, that was all he could think about.

He reached the landing and began sprinting forward, both hands on the railing in a vain attempt to try and pull himself forward faster. Almost there! He was almost there.

Bill was still playing, fingers dancing along the keys. He wasn’t even looking at them; he seemed to be absorbed in the music he was making.

It felt like an eternity too long, but Dipper finally reached Mabel, carefully slipping under the safety rail in a way that he could still hang onto it but also reach for his sister. He was within arms reach all she would have to do was let one hand go…

The song began picking up again.

“Mabel, I’m right here. Just take my hand!”

Mabel nodded and took one hand off the rope, reaching for Dippers outstretched hand. Their fingers brushed against each other, but neither one could get a good grip.

Bill had begun giggling down below them, but Dipper didn’t dare look. He kept his eyes trained on Mabel, reaching forward as far as he could. He had managed to grab her fingers, and he almost wanted to cry from relief. All he had to do now was pull her forward and—

The rope suddenly snapped. Mabel’s fingers slipped through his own.

A terrible sound tore through the room, a horrible mixture of the organ playing its high note, Bill’s horrible hysterical laughter, and Dipper’s screams of pure terror as he watched his sister plummet to the stone floor below. Again, he found he couldn’t look away, he just stood there, hand still outstretched as Mabel fell.

But before she hit the floor, there was a loud and terrible crashing noise, and Dipper woke with a start.

Disoriented, he looked around the dark room, trying to figure out where he was and what was going on. He could clearly hear Mabel yelling and some strange squealing. A moment later, lightning illuminated the room, followed by another loud rumble and high pitched squeal. A thunderstorm…he had been woken up by a thunderstorm.

“Waddles! Calm down! There’s nothing to be scared of—hey! Don’t kick me!”

The light flickered to life, and Dipper could see Mabel struggling with her pig, who was clearly spooked. He was putting up quite the fight too, wiggling and squealing so loud. Mabel just barely managed to get their door open before she carried the scared pig out. Probably to put him into a quieter room or get him something to calm him down, whatever the reason, it gave Dipper a moment to calm down himself.

He held his breath, ears straining for any unusual sound; any hint that this wasn’t real. But all there was to hear was rain against the roof, drips from the leaks, and the ever frequent rumble of thunder. No trace of pipe organ at all.

He pulled his pillow out from behind him and buried his face in it, stifling a hysterical hiccup. It was just a dream. It had just been a dream. Mabel was fine, and he knew Wendy was fine. He’d see her tomorrow when she showed up for work. No one was hurt; they were all perfectly safe…

He was still shaking, he could still see the blood staining Wendy’s shirt, still see Mabel’s terrified face, still hear the song Bill had played as a soundtrack to his terror, still feel those disgusting hands on his shoulder—

There actually was a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped in alarm, head snapping up and half expecting to find himself back in that hellhole. But no, he was still in his room, and he had just scared the bajeezus out of Mabel.

“Whoa! Take it easy, it’s just me.” She said, sitting on the edge of his bed with a curious tilt to the head. Waddles was nowhere to be seen, so Dipper assumed he was down in the spare room, running around in circles until he wore himself out. He let out a shaky breath before pinching the bridge of his nose. His head was really starting to hurt.

“Did Waddles wake you up?”

“Kind of. It was him, you, and the thunder…”

Mabel nodded, before squinting at her brother’s face. Dipper blinked slightly. What? Did he drool on himself again? Was there a spider in his hair?

“You had another nightmare, didn’t you? Bill was in your dreams again!”

Dipper froze for the span of a thunder rumble, before he slumped in defeat and nodded. Somehow, Mabel always knew. Maybe it was how pale he would get after the dreams, or maybe she could hear his whimpers and see him thrashing in his sleep. Mabel always knew when he needed her.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Her voice was quiet, barely heard over the still falling rain. Slowly, Dipper shook his head. He could barely relive the events himself, how could he ever tell his sister that he had failed to save her? That he had let her fall to her death? He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep now. He was terrified of meeting Bill again, who no doubt would want to perform an encore.

Mabel frowned at him for a moment, before sliding off the bed and walking over to her own. Dipper watched as she grabbed her pillow and blanket before crossing back over to his bed, tossing the pillow down where his had once been.

“Come on, scooch over.”

He gave a few startled attempts at speech, because they were twelve years old and hadn’t shared a bed since they were five, but was forced to move over to give Mabel enough space on the bed. When she was settled, she threw her blanket over them both before giving Dipper a grin.

“Comfy?”

Surprisingly, yes. It was a tight fit, but the blanket was warm. He gave a small nod before letting his head fall back against the pillow. Already, he could feel sleep tugging at his eyes. Even the rain and thunder wasn’t so loud anymore. Fear had slowly ebbed away, replaced by comfort and reassurance. Mabel was right there, tucking the blanket around herself and tossing a stray pen out from under her pillow. He’d probably wake up to her hair in his face, or her arm or something, but he couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed about it. He would be in the morning, but for now, he felt safe.

“Thanks Mabel…”

She giggled and poked his cheek, causing him to crack a slight smile.

“Night Dipper.”

“Night Mabel.”

Within minutes, Dipper was fast asleep, and his dreams remained blissfully silent. No giggles, and definitely no pipe organs.

**Author's Note:**

> BEFORE YOU ASK no the song playing is not any specific song. Its kind of a mix of a lot of creepy organ and piano songs that's in my playlist.
> 
> Also kudos to you guys if you can pick up some of my dumb hidden references.


End file.
